The medical character of the University gives it a particular role in society, arising from concern for the protection of life, health and human dignity, regardless of age, race and ethnic origin, nationality, professed religion, social status, sexual orientation, health condition, social position or other factors. A major strength of the Medical University of Gdańsk is its high degree of internationalisation and the resulting multiculturalism, which enrich and constitute one of the principal factors stimulating the development of our entire academic community.
About the campaign
For many years, we have worked to ensure that all students, staff and patients within the walls of our University find a welcoming environment for learning, scientific and personal development, and recovery. Each of us is unique; however, we are united by mutual respect and goodwill, regardless of the differences between us, often very fundamental ones. Much has already been achieved, yet we are aware that there are still areas and situations that require improvement – this was brought home to us, among other things, by the Black Lives Matter campaign in the United States and the response to it within our academic community.
A university is not merely a school providing higher education. By definition, it is a place where people at different stages of their professional and personal lives meet one another and... talk. A university is a remarkable place where we can speak openly and freely and discuss honestly all matters that are important, interesting, rare or surprising - and, as a result of the confrontation of different points of view, such encounters bear fruit in the progress of science as well as in the personal development of the participants – says Dr hab. Tomasz Smiatacz, patron of the initiative and Vice-Rector for Student Affairs during the 2016-2020 and 2020-2024 terms of office.
With the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year, we launched activities at MUG aimed at improving the quality of interpersonal relations and promoting an atmosphere of mutual understanding, respect and empathy, both within and beyond the University, while counteracting and preventing any manifestations of discrimination. The initiators of the information and educational campaign entitled Culture of Respect were a team led by Dr hab. Tomasz Smiatacz, comprising Ewa Kiszka, then Head of the University's Internationalisation Office, Dr Joanna Śliwińska, then Head of the Communication Section, and Dr Jacek Kaczmarek, Specialist for Relations with International Alumni. Also invited to cooperate were members of the University Committee for Counteracting Problems of Mobbing, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination against Students and Doctoral Candidates, the Committee for Counteracting Mobbing, and representatives of the student community - the Student Self-Government and student organisations operating at our University. The campaign logo was designed by Magda Boguska, then employed in the MUG Communication Section.
Actions undertaken
As part of the initiative, we created an online form for the safe reporting of incidents of discrimination or inappropriate treatment. Through the University's social media channels, we presented values important to the MUG community, set out, among others, in the Code of Ethics of the Medical University of Gdańsk, as well as examples of good practice in cooperation based on respect for diversity and difference. We produced short video materials featuring students, doctoral candidates and staff at various levels, promoting equal treatment and highlighting the discriminatory nature of certain behaviours to viewers. The faces of the campaign included members of staff and academic teachers who enjoy the greatest trust and esteem among students (selected, among other things, on the basis of evaluations contained in teaching surveys), as well as students and doctoral candidates from various programmes, representing different ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. In cooperation with external experts (including the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law and the Gdańsk Council for Equal Treatment), we organised a series of online educational workshops entitled Faces of Discrimination, devoted to particular categories and forms of discrimination. In promoting culturally sensitive medicine, we also engaged MUG healthcare entities in our activities. We were keen for this type of education to reach patients under the care of the University's clinical hospitals as well.
Each of us is different and unique. No one is perfect. We differ in obvious matters (age, gender, skin colour, achievements and experience) and in unobvious ones, not visible at first glance (religion, sexual orientation, sensitivity, state of health...). For our encounters to be constructive for everyone, we should treat one another with respect, rather than with superficial kindness. Regardless of what divides us, we must also know how to listen. This requires constant work, and it is worth doing so that, for none of us, the period spent in the academic community proves to have been time wasted. That is what this initiative is about. I warmly encourage all of you to take a personal part in it – adds Dr hab. T. Smiatacz.
